Location:
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge & Little Torch Key, Florida
The small Key Deer and slow Gopher Tortoise are steady beachgoers here.
I enjoy the privilege of encountering these animals as I explore Floridian coastal marine preserves.
Both are listed as endangered species and are protected- their populations now becoming more visible and I might add more “tolerant and easygoing” with human activities.
It was nearly noontime on my nature trails when I heard a distinct crunching sound and spied the tortoise grazing on shrubs outside her sandy burrow.
The numerous small deer peer frequently from the shady swamp mangroves. And “heads-up!” were last seen in a Winn Dixie parking lot.
